Lumber-jack.



W. E. YERKS.

LUMBER JACK.

APPLIUATION FILED DEO.15, 1911.

Patented Aug. 26, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES:

M ATTOR N EY COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cu, WASHINGTON. D. C.

W. E. YERKS.

LUMBER JACK.

APPLIOATION FILED DBO.15, 1911. 1,071,1 98. Patented Aug. 26, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ITNESSES: N INVENTOR F 5 ATTORNEY COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON, D. c.

WILLIAM E. YERKS, O13" YONKERS, NEW YORK.

LUMBER-LACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 15, 1911.

lt"atcnted Aug. 26,1913. Serial No. 668,075.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VVILLTLAM I Yanks, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Yonkers, in the county of lVestchester and State of New York, United States of America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lumber-Jacks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved device for handling lumber which I have called a lumber jack, and its object is to overcome the defects in and to improve upon such devices of this character as have heretofore been known, and to provide a simple and inexpensive device by means of which lumber may be moved and stacked with great facility.

I will describe my invention in the following specification and point out the novel features thereof in appended claims.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a lumber jack made according to my invention and shows also the manner in which it is used. Fig. 2 is aplan view of parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows an elevation of the rotatable contact head and the upper portion of the main supporting post. Fig. 4- shows the same parts in similar elevation, partly in section, with the head turned at right angles to the position shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the lumber jack wit-h another embodiment of stacking device which may he used to facilitate the forming of higher piles of lumber. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the latter embodiment of my lumber jack showing the method of attaching it to the pile of lumber. Fig. 7 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 6.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all figures.

10 designates an upright supporting post, the size, shape and construction of which are not essential except that it should be suitably mounted upon a portable stand. F or example, I have shown in the drawings a straight vertical post arising vertically from the center of a base 11 and with which it is further connected by means of braces 12.

In the upper end of the post 10 is driven a bushing 13, preferably of metal, which is provided with a central vertical bore. Into this bushing fits the round shank 21 of a contact head 20. A shoulder 22 is formed at the upper end of the shank which limits its downward movement, but allows for its free rotation. The lower end of this shank is preferably carried down below the end of the bushing and provided with apin 23 which will prevent the upward movement of the head so that it will not be easily removed from the rest of the apparatus and lost.

It is by giving the upper portion of the contact head the shape which is illustrated in the drawings that this device is peculiarly adapted to the uses for which it is designed and has great advantages over former construct-ions. Above the shoulder the head is flared out to form a flat body portion 2st of approxin'lately the width of the planks or other material with which it is to be used. The top of this body portion is tapered off to form a straight horizontal edge which is cut away to form a plurality of teeth The other embodiment of my stacking device shown in Fig. 5 is to be used when the pile of lumber is of such height as to make 1 the stacking impracticable for the workman, and consists in the preferred form of the support 31- formed substantially as shown, carrying its outer end a contact head similar to that shown in Figs. and 4. Pivotally connected to the other end of the support 3-:t is the clenching member formed with the notched end 36. At any convenient place below the contact head 2: a collar 37 with the lug 3S thereon is secured to the arm Engaging this lug is the hooked end 39 of a brace it), the other end of which is constructed to form a spike -11 back of which is an enlarged head The spike is to be driven into the edge of one of the planks in the lumber pile by a hammer blow on the head .22.

The manner in which this apparatus is to be used and its operation are best seen by referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 5 in which 30 designates a pile of planks or boards which may be in a car or argon, or on the ground, and 31 designates another pile of similar lumber on which these planks are to be stacked. The lumber jack is placed in a desired position. One of the planks is then drawn from the pile 30 onto the jack over the contact head into some such position as that shown at 32. In doing this the head automatically assumes a position with its toothed upper edge transverse to the plank, so that the latter may be teetered upon the jack until it assumes any desired angle of inclination without tipping sidewise. The teeth 25 engage with the under surface of the plank and prevent it from slipping downward. The plank is thereby supported by the jack at diiferent angles of inclination with a considerable amount of stability. Now the planks may be rotated as indicated by the curvel arrow in Fig. 2, and at the same time its upper end may be raised until it assumes the position in which it is shown in'broken lines at 33. Now it may be shoved up onto the pile 31. This operation may be repeated, or if desired, it may be reversed.

lVhen the height of the pile has reached the point where it is impracticable for the workman to reach such a height, the other embodiment of my stacking device above described may be used. The notched mem ber 35 is forced in between two planks bringing the upright portion at?) of the support Set against the ends of the boards in the lumber pile, the brace 4.0 is secured approximately in a horizontal plane, to a plank of the pile 4C1. It will be readily seen that the device is now firmly mounted, and that, by the operator pulling out a plank as at AA to stand on, the pile may be increased in height to any desired limit.

It will be understood that this embodiment of my lumber jack may also be used by the operator working on the ground.

My improved jack may be similarly used in loading or unloading cars or wagons, or in changing the position of a lumber pile, and with it one man may handle lumber which, without it, would require the services of several men. In these ways large amounts of work may be accomplished with a minimum amount of labor.

This device is especially designed for handling lumber and this particular use of it has been specifically described. Obviously, however, it may be put to any other similar uses to which it is applicable.

lVhat I claim is,

1. A device of the class specified comprising a portable support having a smooth vertical hole therein, and a contact head having a spindle loosely fitting said hole and rotatably held in an upright position thereby, a shoulder on said spindle arranged to maintain the relation of the spindle in the support at the same longitudinal position, said contact head having an upper straight engaging edge at right angles to the spindle.

2. A device of the class specified comprising a portable support, a contact head pivotally supported therein, and means for preventing upward or downward movement of the head, said contact head having a straight horizontal upper edge provided with teeth.

3. A device of the class specified comprising a portable rigid support and a bushing in the upper end thereof, and a contact head having a body portion, a shank depending therefrom through the bushing, a pin through said shank, and an upper straight edge at right-angles to said shank and provided with teeth.

a. A device of the class specified comprising a portable rigid support, and a metallic bushing atliXed in the upper end of said support; and a rotatable contact head having a body portion, a shank depending therefrom through the bushing, a pin through said shank below the bushing, and an upper horizontal straight edge provided with teeth.

5. A device of the class specified comprising a portable support, means for holding said support in a rigid position, and a rotatable contact head supported therein, said contact head having an upper straight edge at right angles to the axis of its rotation.

6. A device of the class specified comprising a portable rigid support, means for holding said support in a fixed position and a metallic bushing affixed in the upper end of said support; and a rotatable contact head having a body portion, a shank depending therefrom through the bushing and an upper horizontal straight edge provided with teeth and a pin through the shank below the bushing.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

XVILLIAM E. YER-KS.

Witnesses I F. GRAVES, Gr. QUIMLY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

